Whining dervish

On the mend! No more fever! Cough less frequent! Much less snot! Eating some food! In worse mood!

Perhaps now he feels well enough to complain?

He has been cranky, whiny, clingy, and distracted. I'm really sorry that his illness has coincided with his visit to his paternal grandparents, whom he had only met twice before this. (Not to mention his two uncles, each of whom he had only met once!) They aren't seeing him at his best, although they don't seem to mind, which I appreciate. But sometimes they won't acknowledge he isn't at his best, which has led to the following conversation:

Isaac is:

(a) refusing to eat a single bite of food, throwing everything onto the floor, trying to get down from his booster seat, and wailing "Mama! Mama!"
(b) unable to concentrate for longer than five seconds, unwilling to play with toys or look at books, wandering aimlessly around, and wailing "Mama! Mama!"
(c) utterly exhausted, rubbing his bleary eyes, crying whenever anyone tries to get him to sleep, and wailing "Mama! Mama!"
(d) clinging desperately to me, insisting on being held by me, uninterested in everyone else, and wailing "Mama! Mama!"

I say:

(a) "Usually he has a great appetite, and we always eat together as a family."
(b) "Usually he plays interesting and involved games, and he loves to read books."
(c) "Usually it's much easier to get him to sleep, and he stays asleep longer."
(d) "Really, he isn't always like this!!"

My mother-in-law says:

(a-d) "He's doing just fine. He doesn't seem cranky to me."

For some reason this makes me want to insist that my child is not usually a whiny whirling dervish, although at this very moment he is acting like one! I want to stand up for both points: to defend Isaac's usual pleasant personality, and to allow him to feel bad sometimes.

I know, I know, his grandparents are blinded by love. I'm grateful for that.